Pivoting door hinges are well known for use with shower doors. A known pivot hinge assembly can include a door mount with a protruding post that pivotally connects a mounting portion to a receiving aperture in a wall, soffit, header or other stationary element. Pivot hinge assemblies frequently require fewer hardware elements, as compared to fully framed door hinges, thereby enabling a larger portion of the shower door to be visible. In that way they can provide an aesthetically pleasing visual appearance in shower door assemblies. Some known pivot hinge assemblies also are self-centering. A self-centering hinge assembly biases a mounted shower door towards a generally closed position. A disadvantage of a known pivot hinge assembly used with shower doors is that holes and/or notches are required to be cut into the glass door panel in order to mount the door mounting portion of the hinge assembly to the shower door. Furthermore, boring, notching or otherwise mechanically altering a glass door panel in this way can impair the structural strength of the panel, cause stress points or otherwise weaken the panel, and also impact aesthetic appeal. A further disadvantage is that this increases fabrication expense and time.
One example of a self-centering pivot door hinge is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,643,898. A door receiving channel member is provided having a generally rectangular bottom and a base plate member is provided having an alignment channel defined by a pair of generally parallel ridge members. The channel member bottom is pivotable from a centered orientation within the alignment channel between the ridge members to a non-centered orientation wherein the channel member rests upon the ridge members. Set screws are also illustrated on the door panel receiving channel, received within apertures in the door panel receiving channel and can be accessible along one of the inside of the shower door or outside, depending on the orientation of the channel member in assembly. The set screws apply lateral pressure to a compression plate that secures the door to the door receiving channel member (i.e. the pressure is applied by the set screws generally vertical to the door panel.
Accordingly, there is a need for a pivot door hinge device and system that requires a reduced number of externally visible mounting screws, has a base plate without a plural ridge members or an alignment channel defined by ridge members and is self-centering and provides an aesthetically pleasing appearance.